Anatomy of a beat battle

Since September 2008, the
guys behind Heavy Gun Blog have used their domain to salute all manner of
bad-assery: music, art, movies, videos, people, technology. Heavy Gun also
sponsors and organizes events, including a now-annual beat battle to be held at
Savvy Salon during this year's Broad Ripple Music Fest.

Think of a beat battle as a
brother to the emcee battle in the competitive hip-hop world. And a more
demanding brother, because a beat battle asks the listener to devote her
attention to craft, to compare superficially similar approaches like a wine
connoisseur at a taste test, to shift attention usually focused to a lyricist's
rhymes towards a producer's beats. By placing producers front and center before
a crowd, a beat battle serves to highlight those whose work is usually executed
behind the scenes.

The Heavy Gun Beat Battle
runs in a head-to-head format, with 16 contestants competing in a
single-elimination format. Keep score by bringing along an NCAA tournament
bracket and starting from the Sweet Sixteen. During a given round, each
producer plays two different one-minute sections of beats that have been
prepared in advance of the battle. Three judges, who remain unannounced until
the day of the contest, pick the winner.

Last year's inaugural Heavy
Gun battle saw a good-sized, all-ages crowd pack into the now-defunct Northside
News. Some oohed and ahhed at complex beats while others, closer to the back,
busted out fervent, choppy dance moves. But then, no sooner than individuals
really started to connect with a track, the music cut out.

Such was the case for the
rest of the night — time and time again, the music abruptly halted just
as it started to groove. And such are the demands of the beat battle —
although live, out-of-competition performances between rounds by hip-hop acts
will offer respite from the battle in the form of full-length songs, most of
them several minutes long.

During one of the four
rounds, the fan-favorite "sample challenge," each producer will play a
one-minute beat that features an '80s-movie quote. 2009 Beat Battle champion
Fire — who was known as Firearms until he recently shortened the moniker
so that he might set a better example for his son — says that the sample
round is his favorite.

"I love a challenge," Fire
explains. "This is where I shine. Last year we had to sample a certain artist
[the Krautrock band Can]. I spent a couple weeks studying the catalogue of that
artist to find the perfect sample. Then I stayed up all night the day before
the battle making the beat."

Although beat battles are
popular in the hip-hop community nationwide, they're a "rarity" in Indiana,
according to local producer and Heavy Gun Beat Battle organizer J. Brookinz.

"So when there is one going
on, it attracts a lot of attention," Brookinz says. "A couple of the producers
competing are from Bloomington, a couple are from South Bend."

Brookinz handpicked the
producers who will compete on Saturday.

"Over the past year I kept my
ear open for impressive talent," he explains. "And when I heard something I liked
I made sure to keep in contact with that person."

"I go through all my previous
productions and decide what beats are 'battle' beats," Fire says of his
beat-making process. "Nobody wants to hear just a looped sample with looped
drums in a battle. I pick beats with technical chops and unidentifiable drums,
hybrid drums, deep bass lines, obnoxious sounds, extreme dramatics in
orchestration, classic hard-hitting soul, and samples that are un-sampleable."
Fire laughs as he corrects himself, "That's not a word."

It's not just beatmakers who
take an interest in beat battles. The battle environment also gives emcees an
opportunity to window shop for future collaborations or search for a new sound
for their next record.